Online Reporter
Midlands Bureau
IN a bizarre and chilling incident, a 33-year-old vendor has been slapped with a two-year jail term after she drew blood from a 10-year-old girl without consent in the middle of a bustling supermarket marketplace.
Mavis Sibanda of Gokwe town stunned the courtroom when she pleaded guilty to one count of assault after pricking a minor’s finger and drawing blood for what appeared to be an unauthorized HIV test.
The drama unfolded on Monday morning at Sai Mart Supermarket in Gokwe CBD. Prosecutor Ms Tatenda Angela Mandishona told the court that Sibanda called the young girl to her vending stall and asked her to stretch out her right forefinger.
Without warning, she jabbed the child with a needle and placed the blood sample on an HIV test kit.
The frightened girl fled in tears but was stopped by two men who noticed her distress. After she narrated the strange encounter, they tracked down Sibanda and alerted the police.
Magistrate Honest Musiiwa sentenced Sibanda to two years behind bars.
The motive behind the blood-drawing remains unclear but the vendor certainly crossed a serious line and now she is paying the price.
derick.khumalo